The embodiments described herein relate generally to baggage handling systems, and more particularly, to a tray-conveyor baggage handling system including a conveyor configured to transport at least one tray with an object therein through an imaging gantry.
Known luggage scanning systems, such as explosives detection systems (EDS) that perform computed tomography (CT) scanning, are designed to scan a continuous stream of luggage and other objects to provide adequate throughput for travelers at an airport, for example. Baggage handling systems are designed to facilitate this stream of luggage, transporting luggage items throughout the airport. At least some baggage handling systems have been developed that use trays or totes to carry objects (e.g., luggage, bags, etc.). These systems facilitate more reliable bag tracking and enable faster transportation speeds within the system. Reliability and speed are important factors, particularly in medium and large sized airports, where bags often need to travel long distances and be transported between different locations within the airport.
However, in at least some known baggage handling systems, luggage is placed in trays that travel on top of a traditional conveyor belt. Such an arrangement significantly reduces a maximum size of luggage that can pass through a gantry of the EDS. Moreover, as a field of view (FOV) of the EDS is configured based upon the conveyor-belt surface, at least a portion of a large luggage item may therefore be outside of the FOV of the EDS when the large luggage item passes through the gantry in a tray on top of a conveyor belt. Accordingly, at least some luggage items may not be satisfactorily imaged.